by Len Fisher | 20 Jan 2017 | IgNobel Prize, Stray Thoughts
I am stimulated to write this post by the news that the “celebrated American poet Joseph Charles McKenzie” has composed a poem to celebrate Donald Trump’s inauguration. The poem contains the immortal lines “With purpose and strength he came down from his tower To... 
by Len Fisher | 23 Mar 2015 | Mini Stories from Science
In the last post I suggested that the use of blue light to stimulate erections was a sure-fire candidate for an IgNobel Prize. But what is an IgNobel Prize? How does one go about winning one? And should one want to win one? When they were initiated in 1991 as a parody... 
by Len Fisher | 12 Mar 2015 | Mini Stories from Science
Harvard has slipped to sixth in the Times Higher Education’s list of the world’s top universities (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2017/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank_label/sort_order/asc/cols/rank_only). I wonder whether... 
by Len Fisher | 27 Jan 2015 | Mini Stories from Science
Before the days of the Internet, letters were the most common form of communication, and scientists received some very curious letters from people whom they did not know and who they had never heard of. I have myself received some beauties, especially after I received... by Len Fisher | 8 Mar 2004 | Think Like a Scientist: Media and Writing
QE2 Cruise February 24, 2004 – March 8, 2004 1. Science in Everyday Life From cleaning wine stains off a carpet to removing recalcitrant screws with damaged heads, science has an answer. 2. The Science of Gastronomy Leading chefs are increasingly using science...